


The lotus flower is pure despite growing in muddy waters

by olympia_m



Series: In the darkness of an endless night [2]
Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series, 闇の末裔 | Yami No Matsuei | Descendants of Darkness
Genre: M/M, Nothing much happens, Self-Indulgent, but has no sex - he's still a minor, underage character becoming sexually aware
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 18:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14170452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olympia_m/pseuds/olympia_m
Summary: Oriya is still lonely, but so is Feilong. Together they try to find some companionship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I can't leave things alone - I can't! *sigh*  
> Poems mentioned: On a Gate Tower at Yuzhou, A farewell to secretary Shuyun at the Xietiao villa in Huangzhu, and A lute song) from 300 Tang Poems.  
> Music references: The autumn moon in the palace of the Han emperor; Guangling fantasia; A traditional tune in common; Lotus flower emerging from water; Embroidering of the golden tapestry.  
> moved from Box of sweets because of its length

Auntie looked at the peonies in the vase on his desk. Then she looked at him critically. “So,” she said slowly. The corners of her mouth curved ever so slightly. 

Oriya looked down, embarrassed. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling, though. “Yes?”

Auntie pinched his right cheek. It hurt. “I hope you learned something from this.”

“Yes?”

“Next time the Doctor brings a male friend over for a discussion you will not be such a prissy thing, will you?”

“Erm…” Gods, he had been a prick to Muraki – even though Muraki deserved it each and every time Oriya kicked him. Hell, he ought to kick Muraki once every day whenever he visited; Muraki would know why, even when Oriya didn’t. Still, he had been a prick back then. 

Auntie grinned. “Will you?” she asked again as she pulled his other cheek. 

“No, Auntie, no. I will let Muraki bring his male friends here.”

“Only Muraki?” she said, hitting him on the head. 

Oriya looked at her. Should he allow his customers to bring ‘male friends’ over? Or…. did Auntie want him to expand their business? The thought made him gasp, horrified. 

“You should be honest with yourself,” she whispered, hugging him. “You keep denying yourself, and you only become miserable, Oriya.”

Ah, that’s what she meant. Oriya felt relief. He hugged her back. “Alright, Auntie.” 

“Your Mother would have approved, you know.” 

“Would she?”

“Of course. As for your Father…”

“He doesn’t give a damn.”

“Exactly. And why is that?”

“Because he doesn’t give a damn about anything?”

She hit him on the head before moving away from him. “Because he knows life is short. Oriya, you…”

“I know,” he cut her off. “Life is short.”

Auntie smiled. “So, will the young man be coming again? I wonder which season he will choose to visit you.”

Oriya shrugged. Feilong could do whatever he wanted. He would be here to welcome him, either alone, or with a lover. He would always be here. 

Auntie hit him again. “What now? You’re being maudlin.”

“Nothing.” He picked up a flower and offered it to her. “Here.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Oriya. That is very kind of you.”

He couldn’t stand the kindness in her eyes. “I should get ready for tonight,” he said, dismissing her. 

Auntie nodded, understanding that this discussion was over. “What time should we have the early evening meal today?” 

“Six?” They always had it at six; why did they ask him every day? 

“Great. See you later.” 

Oriya watched her until she left the room. Then he turned towards the garden again and the sakura tree. “When I die, will you let me go?” he asked it. 

There was no answer, but there was a sudden wind that made all the leaves rustle from one end of the garden to the other. Oriya sighed. He suspected that meant ‘no’. He’d pass from a ghost-like existence to that of a ghost, and he’d always be here. 

He suddenly wished Feilong would visit him again. It would be nice if he could add him to his tiny list of guests. He needed more friends in his life. And if Feilong came alone? Ah, Oriya dared not hope.


	2. Chapter 2

Feilong looked at the restaurant entrance for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and walked across the rest of the street. The doors behind the fabric curtains were closed, but before he could knock on them, they opened. 

A beautiful woman in her forties smiled at him. It made her look a little like a smirking fox, but that only added to her charm. “Liu-sama,” she bowed. “I will call the Young Master. Can you please wait?”

Feilong nodded. Not being allowed in was a bad or a good thing? He decided not to worry about that at the moment; he’d worry about it later, if he had cause for worry. 

A moment later Oriya came out. He looked taller than Feilong remembered, until he looked down and saw he was wearing geta with a blue strap that matched his yukata. Feilong smirked. How fashion-conscious. 

“Liu-sama,” Oriya said, bowing slightly as if he were a customer. “Please, come in.”

Feilong nodded. “Call me Feilong, please,” he said as he followed Oriya inside. “Unless you’d rather forget our past tryst?” he asked in a low voice.

“No, of course not. Feilong.”

He smiled. Oriya pronounced his name carefully, as if he had to think about where to place the accents. It was sweet. He frowned as he realized Oriya was leading him to the dining rooms. “You don’t have to feed me before you fuck me. I’m easy,” he said in the same low voice. 

Oriya stopped walking. “Ah, ha, ha,” he laughed awkwardly. “Maybe we can continue this discussion in my room?”

Feilong nodded and kept quiet until they were there. Oriya made him sit and started making tea for him. 

“I really hope this is not the prelude to a twelve-course meal,” he said. “Something that takes three hours is fine for a first date, but I’d rather we spent these three hours differently.”

“Always so direct,” Oriya whispered, looking away from him. 

“Of course. You may feed me something small, if you so desire, or between rounds one and two, or rounds two and three, or… you get the idea,” Feilong grinned. 

“So, you only came here for the sex,” Oriya grinned as well, still not looking at him and pouring hot water into a small teapot. Somehow, Feilong had the impression he was irritated. 

“Not just that. I’ll stay here for a week. Plenty of time to explore temples, parks, museums, plays, whether you want to have a relationship with more than sex.”

Out went the water and in went the leaves. “A relationship?” Oriya frowned. “With me?” 

He looked so confused that Feilong felt equally amused and sad. “Yes, with you. Would that be so strange?”

“Yes?”

That was just sad. “I’m not asking for commitment,” Feilong laughed. “Just sex and friendship.” He stopped laughing. “Or is that too complicated for you?” He asked seriously.

“I’m tempted to say ‘yes’,” Oriya told him, just as seriously. He stared at the teapot as he waited for the tea to brew. 

Feilong waited, finding the teapot suddenly as fascinating as Oriya did. It was a deceptively plain clay thing; Feilong suspected it was at least a hundred years old and cost a small fortune. He’d done his research back home; a more thorough research than what he’d done when he’d accepted Oriya’s first invitation. 

Oriya was rich and he’d had an expensive, but ultimately useless, education; his family controlled part of the red-lights district in Kyoto and he’d slowly been taking over that business instead of following a career in pharmacology. This had told him one thing; Oriya had been spoilt. 

Feilong had been home-schooled, but had never considered going to college when he was young. Partly because of Yan’s taunts and insults. Yan had made a good job making Feilong feel like a burden on his family, and it had taken him years to get over it. But Feilong himself had felt that it would be pointless to study something he wouldn’t use. He’d learned how to run the family business, then took some courses while in prison, and that had been enough for him. 

Oriya, though, had gone to college and studied something he had no need for. And if Feilong had studied against his father’s wishes, then his father would have dragged him back home and locked him in the basement. Or, if not Father, then Yan – and Yan would have done it with pleasure. Oriya’s family, instead, had let him waste his time and their money. How indulged he must have been. Feilong almost envied him. 

Feilong had thought about it a lot before coming back there. Not only had Oriya been spoilt rotten (and, Feilong suspected, still was), he also had his own obligations and commitments. When he took over his family business, having a relationship with him would be with another another gang leader. It would have the potential of being messy and complicated, maybe even signaling an alliance between groups, when there would be none. 

But, that fan on his desk reminded him, each time he looked at it, that it wouldn’t be easy finding another who’d talk to him in lines of poetry. Someone who’d get his own literary references, and who’d share his own taste for old things. 

“Where are the ages that have gone,” Oriya suddenly said as he poured tea in Feilong’s cup, “and where are the coming generations?” 

Feilong smiled. That’s exactly what had drawn him back. This time it was classical Chinese poetry, chosen for him, no doubt. “Heaven and earth, without limit, without end.” He took a sip. Ah, Chinese tea, an excellent Wu Lu with a sweet, nutty flavour. Chosen for him as well, no doubt about that either. 

Oriya nodded. “And I am all alone, but I don’t want to be so anymore. Even if you don’t want a commitment. Even if you just want me for the sex.”

“No, I want you for the tea as well,” he grinned. “Aren’t you a little young to be having a mid-life crisis?”

Oriya’s expression was soft and sad at the same time. 

“Forget it,” Feilong said. He didn’t want to know the answer to that question. Not yet, anyway. He took another sip. “Let’s spend this week together, as much as we can. Let’s see how it goes. And afterwards…” Feilong shrugged. 

Oriya looked at the garden. “You can choose a season too,” he said quietly. “Ukyou comes in the summer, Muraki visits in the autumn.”

Feilong looked at the pale golden tea. No, this was beyond sad. “I will visit whenever I want. What am I? A bird to come and go with the seasons?” He snorted. “Unless that’s what you want,” he said more gently. 

Oriya shrugged. “You can do whatever you want.”

Passivity or reticence? Feilong did not know. Instead of pressing Oriya to tell him what he really wanted, he finished his tea. “Yes, I will do whatever I want,” he said, since Oriya left this up to him. Standing up, he offered his hand to Oriya. “I can tell you feel it’s your duty to feed me,” he grinned. “So, feed me. Something light, something refreshing, something appropriate for the season. And then, I’ll let you know if I want to fuck or be fucked today.”

Oriya looked at Feilong’s hand. Then he took it with a smile. “I want to fuck you,” he said as he stood up. 

Feilong grinned. “We’ll see.” If he were honest with himself, he wouldn’t mind being fucked again either. Good sex between them was the only certain thing; the question was, would they be able to be friends too? Who knew?


	3. Chapter 3

Tao wanted to dislike Oriya-sama, he really did, but the man did make Fei-sama peaceful. Tao did not know if Fei-sama was happy as well, but he supposed that with relaxation came some sort of happiness. 

He leaned against the door, listening to the soft sounds Oriya-sama was creating. Whatever he played was soothing and slow, like the calm surface of a lake under a clear, spring sky. A deep lake reflecting a bright, full moon; something that should have been scary, but the light made into a friend. 

Tao smiled. He preferred it when Oriya-sama played Chinese music. Japanese music was too sad and too serious, all dark, cloudy skies and still, treacherous waters. He was certain Fei-sama preferred it too. 

When the piece ended Tao knocked on the door and let himself in. Fei-sama smiled at him from the sofa, Oriya-sama looked up from his place on the floor. Tao had no idea one could play the guzheng while sitting down, but Oriya-sama had brought a special type of stand for it. Oriya-same was weird. 

“Your tea, Feilong-sama,” he said as he put the tray down.

“Thank you, Tao.”

Oriya-sama looked at him strangely. Not that this was extraordinary; Oriya-sama always looked at him strangely, as if he was trying to figure out Tao. Tao didn’t understand it; he was just Tao, and he belonged to Fei-sama. “Thank you for the tea, Tao,” he finally said. 

Tao bowed. 

“Why don’t you stay a while, Tao?” Oriya-sama asked. 

Fei-sama nodded. “If you have finished with your chores, you may.” He patted the sofa next to him. 

“I have, I have,” Tao grinned as he sat next to Fei-sama. 

Fei-sama smiled at him warmly. 

Oriya-sama started playing again, a simple, slow melody that made Tao think of gentle raindrops against the window. He found himself moving closer to Fei-sama, and, delight of delights, Fei-sama hugged him gently. Tao smiled, and Fei-sama smiled back at him. 

“What is this piece?” he whispered.

“It’s called Fantasia,” Fei-sama replied just as softly. “It’s a type of improvisation. It’s the musical exploration of an idea, rather than the depiction of a theme, or mood, or a story.”

“Ah, I see.” Tao grinned. “It reminds me of rain.” Oriya-sama started playing faster. It still reminded Tao of rain. “A summer storm, perhaps.”

Fei-sama smiled at him again. “Perhaps,” he agreed. He looked outside, at the bright, cloudless sky. 

The piece ended as suddenly as it had started. Tao felt cheated, expecting the music to continue for longer. 

Oriya-sama started playing something that sounded like a dance. 

“And this?”

“This is a traditional tune from Shandong province.”

“Fei-sama knows so much.”

Fei-sama smiled again. “I would like my Tao to know more than me. How would you like going to an international school here?”

The piece became faster, and Tao wondered if Oriya-sama had somehow picked up his anxiety at Fei-sama’s question. “And leave Fei-sama?”

“No, you would still live here, with me. But going to an international school would mean learning a third language, and meeting people from other countries. It would broaden your horizons.” Fei-sama smiled at Oriya-sama. “Oriya-sama learned Chinese and German at his school.”

Tao snorted. “I’m not sure about Chinese,” he blurted out.

Oriya-sama grinned. “I did learn it, but I forgot most of it. I can still remember poetry, though. Today is troubling me,” he started, barely plucking the strings as he spoke, using the right accents in the words for once, “and the wild geese come together with the autumn winds.” He stared at Fei-sama.

Fei-sama let out a soft sigh. “As I was saying,” he said suddenly, turning to face Tao again, “going to an international school would be good for you. Think about it, please.”

Tao stood up. He made a small bow. “I will. Thank you.” He picked up the tray. “I should go do some… something.” He almost ran out of the room and, when he closed the door, he leaned against it. 

“Don’t suggest it,” Oriya-sama said almost angrily. “Just enroll him.”

Tao gripped the tray hard. Oriya-sama wanted him out of the house, and away from Fei-sama. He was such a horrible person.

“I can’t ‘just enroll him’. If I do, and school makes him miserable, he will hate me.”

“He would never hate you.”

Of course he would never hate Fei-sama. That’s why he wanted to stay with him. 

Fei-sama was quiet. “Perhaps,” he finally said, making Tao smile. “Still, I don’t want to force him. If I make him do something he doesn’t want, he _will_ be miserable, and I can’t have that. He’s the closest thing I have to a son, Oriya. The only son I’ll ever have. I don’t want to mess up our relationship. Surely you understand that.”

Tao closed his eyes. Hearing Fei-sama say that made him feel so warm inside. So very warm. 

“My relationship with my father is not ‘messed up’ because he sent me to the international school despite my wishes. It’s because we’re both stubborn and we both think we’re right.”

“You really don’t understand, then. If I ‘just enroll’ Tao, I will be stubborn and thinking I’m doing the right thing, while disregarding Tao’s wishes.”

“Even if he wishes to be home-schooled so that he can be with you?”

What was wrong with that? 

“I was home-schooled too.”

Exactly, Tao nodded. 

“Yes, but Tao does not have your intellectual curiosity.” 

Tao narrowed his eyes. Did Oriya-sama think he was stupid? 

“He is clever,” Fei-sama defended him. 

“Yes, but he’s not curious. He’s happy with the way things are.” Oriya-sama started playing yet another soft, slow piece. 

Tao didn’t understand why that was a problem. He liked things as they were; he liked being with Fei-sama, watching him, helping him, supporting him, learning from him. Fei-sama was the best teacher Tao could ever have. He didn’t need others. 

Fei-sama probably didn’t understand why that was a problem either, judging by his protracted silence. 

“He’s your son,” Oriya-sama suddenly said. “I’m sorry; I won’t try interfering with how you are bringing him up again.”

Yes! Tao almost let out a scream, and had to clap his hand over his mouth to make sure his voice wouldn’t be heard. 

“Even though you disagree.”

“You have your own truth regarding Tao, and you should do what you think is best for him. What I think, well, you know what I think.” The music stopped abruptly. “You are doing a good job bringing him up, from what I’ve seen.”

Tao nodded again. He couldn’t have had a better father than Fei-sama. 

“At least we agree on that,” Fei-sama laughed after another long silence. “The host asks his guest to play on the lute,” Fei-sama said then, confusing Tao. 

“Before it is farewell,” Oriya replied as he started playing again, another mellow, soft piece that, Tao was certain, would make Fei-sama relax again. 

What did that mean? It had to be poetry. Well, Tao was clever. He’d find that poem and show Oriya-sama that he too could be curious. Intellectually too, not just curious as in always eavesdropping on Fei-sama and his guests. 

&*&*

Tao knocked on the door. “Your tea, Feilong-sama.” He opened the door, and was immediately disappointed to see that Feilong-sama was nowhere in sight. Oriya-sama was, though, sitting at Feilong-sama’s favourite arm-chair, wrapped in Feilong-sama’s dressing gown, and reading one of Feilong-sama’s books. 

Tao bit back a snort. If this were a fairy-tale, Oriya-sama would be the wicked step-mother wanting to drive him away from home. 

Oriya-sama looked up from the book, amused and obviously trying not to laugh. “Feilong is in the bathroom. You can leave the tea here, Tao.” 

“I can take it to him.”

Oriya-sama studied him. “Of course,” he said a moment later. “And when you are done, do stay for a bit.”

Tao nodded. He picked up the tray again and went to the bathroom. He couldn’t hear the sound of running water, so Fei-sama had to be in the tub. Tao knocked softly on the door, then opened it, and grinned. 

He was right; Fei-sama was lying with his eyes closed in the tub, covered from neck to toe with big fat bubbles. His hair was wet, falling in a tangled mass behind him. He put down the tray. “Your tea, Fei-sama.”

“Thank you, Tao.” 

Tao studied him.

Fei-sama opened his eyes. “What is the matter, Tao?”

“When you are done, can I brush your hair?”

“Of course, Tao.” Fei-sama closed his eyes again. “But later, alright?”

“Of course. Thank you, Feilong-sama.”

“When did you grow so polite around me?” Tao heard Fei-sama whisper as Tao closed the bathroom door. 

Tao smiled. Had he become more polite towards Fei-sama? Wasn’t that how he was supposed to be? 

Oriya-sama smiled at him, leaning forward. “Take a seat, Tao. Please.”

Tao sat at the edge of the sofa, clutching the tray against his chest. “Yes?” In the fairy-tales, this was the point where the wicked step-mother would show her wickedness, and try to kill the poor child in her care. 

“Next time Feilong comes to Kyoto, you should come too. You enjoyed your time there, didn’t you?”

Tao nodded. He had, and he’d even thought that Oriya-sama was nice and funny when he’d met him, but Oriya-sama had only used him to get to know Fei-sama and get close to him. Tao hadn’t forgiven him that. He smirked. “But three hundred miles from here, official duties await you,” he said, paraphrasing the poem they had used the night before. “How much time will you have for Fei-sama?”

Oriya grinned. “You looked up A lute song. Excellent. Did you like Li Qi’s poetry?” he asked, not answering Tao.

“It was okay,” he lied. He’d skimmed through Fei-sama’s classical poetry anthology and hadn’t read anything else once he’d found what he was looking for. He looked away, suddenly embarrassed. That’s what Oriya-sama meant by ‘intellectual curiosity.’

Oriya-sama got up. He looked for a book in the shelves lining one wall of Feilong’s room and brought it to Tao. “This is where to start.” 

Tao looked at the title. “Three hundred Tang poems.”

“The most classical anthology of classical Chinese poetry ever compiled.” Oriya-sama sat down by Tao’s feet. “I’ll tell you a secret about it. It has more than 300 poems,” he said in a low voice. 

Tao ran his fingers across the cover. “And you know them all by heart.”

“Not all,” Oriya-sama shrugged. 

Tao had the impression he was lying. “Did you learn them at school?”

“Some of them.”

“Did you enjoy going to an international school?”

“It was alright. I made some good friends there.” Oriya-sama suddenly smiled. “I’m still friends with most of them, even though we now live in different countries.” He sighed. “My school days were full of fun, and so was university.”

Tao leaned forward, close enough to almost touch Oriya-sama. 

“Sometimes, my mates and I would skip school and go fishing at Lake Biwa.”

“Fishing?” Wasn’t that what old men did? Oriya-sama was a bad liar. 

“Yes. It was more fun than playing arcade games. Other times we’d go walking in the area near Sanbi, or the Fushimi Inari shrine. We’d walk and talk for hours. Ah, how much fun that was. We’d slip into our mother tongues after a few hours of hiking, and we’d teach each other the names of whatever we saw. ” Oriya-sama laughed. “I can spy with my little eye, something beginning with an,” he said in English, pointing at the book in Tao’s hand, “L. Livre.”

Tao narrowed his eyes. He knew what the evil step-mother was doing. “I’m happy here. And Fei-sama can get me all the books in the world.”

“Don’t you want to know children your age?”

“Children my age?” Tao frowned, and pushed himself back, too tempted to hit Oriya-sama on the head. “Only if they also belong to Triad families.”

“Ah.” Oriya-sama slid away from Tao, and then suddenly stood up. “Life as a Triad member should not be all that you aspire to have, Tao,” he said seriously.

“It’s not the life I aspire to. It’s my family I don’t want to leave,” Tao sprang up. “I love Fei-sama, and I will not leave him,” he shouted as he ran out of the room. 

That was all the truth Tao knew. He loved Fei-sama, his parent, his elder brother, his everything. He loved Fei-sama, who was kind, generous, beautiful. He stopped running, and leaned against the wall. 

Where had that last thought come from? Fei-sama was beautiful, but Tao had never cared about that. Yet suddenly… He loved Fei-sama because he was beautiful. He wanted to touch Fei-sama because he was beautiful. 

And Fei-sama would not understand how Tao loved him, because Tao was still young, too young for him. 

Tao turned around, staring at the closed door. One day, when he’d be older, he’d love Fei-sama properly, exactly as he deserved. Until then, he’d be with Fei-sama; he’d support him and learn from him and love him as always. He’δ be Fei-sama’s Tao until he were old enough to take Fei-sama for himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story totally did not go where I wanted it to go... Muses, huh? :)

Oriya stared at the door. Gods, Tao’s thoughts were loud. And so were his newly-discovered emotions. And his determination. Even if Oriya didn’t know that he was a Liu by birth, he would have known it just by his strength of will. Or maybe his obsession with Feilong. 

Feilong got out of the bathroom at exactly that moment. Oriya couldn’t blame either Tao or Yan for their obsession with this man. Wet hair so black it shone blue trailed down his exposed, pale chest. The rich burgundy bathrobe made Feilong look otherworldly, as tall and slender as a young tree full of life. 

“Where is Tao? He said he’d brush my hair.”

“I’ll call him,” Oriya replied and ran out of the room. 

Tao was still at the corridor, staring at the door. The moment Oriya opened it his expression changed from determined to shocked. He made to flee. “Tao, Feilong said you should brush his hair.” 

Tao nodded, looking at him warily. He didn’t move, though. 

Oriya smiled, the way he always did when he lied. “I’m going to the living room to play some music. The acoustics are better there, had you noticed?” 

Tao shook his head. He finally took a step forward, and then another. Oriya passed him by on his way to the living room, pretending he didn’t notice how Tao looked at him with jealousy as well as fear, as if Oriya really was both the wicked step-mother and the dragon he’d had to defeat in order to get to the prince he loved. 

When Tao was finally in the room together with Feilong his joy at being next to Fei-sama was almost tangible, and Oriya could feel it at the other side of the house. He could also feel Feilong’s happiness at being with Tao. A bone-deep contentment took over Feilong, together with an affection so profound and genuine it really could be called love.

He sat down in front of the guzheng and looked at it. He should have bought a koto as well, or maybe a shamisen. If he had either he would play Boat of Dreams until he felt better. But with this? 

Oriya stared outside. He was used to being a footnote in someone else’s story. He’d already resigned himself to going with the flow of Feilong’s emotions, and now there was Tao to consider as well. Tao, not yet a man, but no more a child. 

If he were with Feilong long in the future, if Tao ever decided to make a pass at Feilong, he wouldn’t try to stop him. He’d bow down with some grace, and exit stage left. 

Ah, but how he missed home. The silks that covered his ghost-like existence, the furniture and walls that hadn’t changed in more than two hundred years, the placid, welcoming garden. He even missed the cherry tree that watched over him. 

There at least he could have the cold comfort of his cat, and the indifference of his goldfish. Here, what did he have, but this thing that Feilong liked to listen to? Feilong, who was in his room, heart bursting with joy because Tao smiled at him and brushed his hair exactly the way he liked. 

Feilong, who did not know yet that in his heart there was the germ for loving Tao in another way, a way that had nothing to do with parental love or affection. Feilong, who would never open his heart to him the way he had opened it to Tao. Feilong, who found him easy and convenient and cultured, and did not have to hide his bookish nature around him.

Feilong, Feilong, Feilong. 

Feilong, whom Oriya didn’t quite love, but who made him happy and less lonely. 

Ah, but yes, exit stage left when the time was right; that was him. Until then, he would play music, and make tea, and talk of books and poetry. Until then, he wouldn’t feel so lonely. Better some love, than none, wasn’t that so?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omake! because this is more or less what I wanted to do, so I had to find a way to do it :):) (I honestly did not want to write sad things...).

Tao put down the tea, but instead of leaving immediately he studied Oriya-sama. 

“You may ask what you want, Tao,” Oriya-sama told him suddenly, with a small smile. 

“You went to university, you said.”

Oriya-sama nodded. He pushed aside his music sheet and stopped playing, waiting for Tao to continue. 

At such times Tao found it even more difficult to not like him. Oriya-sama looked at him as if he were an adult already. Tao had to remind himself that Oriya-sama was the wicked step-mother, not the fairy god-mother, in Tao’s fairy tale of a life. “What did you study?”

Tao noticed that Feilong-sama stopped turning the book pages the moment he asked. Oriya-sama noticed too, judging by his glance at Feilong-sama’s hands.

“Pharmacology,” he finally said. 

Tao widened his eyes. “What was the point of studying that, if you were going to take over your family restaurant anyway?” He immediately looked away. How come Fei-sama thought him more mature and polite when, every time he was around Oriya-sama he blurted out whatever was in his head? “Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was….”

“A perfectly good question,” Oriya-sama cut him off with another smile. He glanced at Feilong-sama. “I wanted to study medicine at first, but my family thought that that would be truly useless. Too many years of studying that would go to waste. So, pharmacology it was.” Oriya-sama let out a sudden, wicked laughter. “Well, it wasn’t like there was another way to study poisons, was there?”

Feilong-sama dropped his book. 

Tao looked at Oriya-sama knowing he looked terrified. 

“Oriya,” Feilong-sama hissed, annoyed. 

“Sorry. But I do know how to poison people,” he said in a soft, ominous voice while staring at Tao. “And lots of other useless things,” he laughed again, still looking scary. 

Feilong-sama huffed and rolled his eyes upwards. 

Oriya-sama stood up. “For example, I know why washing your face with green tea is great for your skin. Come with me.”

Tao looked back at Feilong-sama. He looked as confused as Tao, and shrugged minutely. 

Oriya-sama knelt down next to Tao. “I will teach you the best skin care routine ever,” he whispered in his ear. “Believe me; Feilong will thank you for it someday.”

Tao knew he was gaping. What did that even mean? “I don’t need it,” he said angrily. 

“No, you don’t, but Feilong?" He continued in the same soft, light tone. "He’s reaching thirty. He has to start taking better care of himself. Don’t you want to help him take care of himself?”

Tao nodded despite himself. 

“Just go, Tao,” Feilong-sama laughed. “I’m fairly certain Oriya won’t do anything to you. Will you, Oriya?”

Tao was happy to hear that edge of steel creep into Fei-sama’s voice. Fei-sama would protect him from the wicked, poison-making step-mother, and if anything were to happen to him, well, then he definitely would kill that wicked, evil person and avenge Tao’s death. It was a bit romantic, in a morbid way.

“Of course not,” Oriya-sama smiled as he stood up. “Well?”

Tao followed him. “If you try anything, Fei-sama will know,” he threatened Oriya-sama the moment they were out of the living room.

“He will know anyway,” Oriya-sama laughed.

Tao stopped, feeling scared again. “What do you mean?”

Oriya stopped as well. “I’m going to teach you the beauty secrets of Gion. How to use what you have in the pantry for making some essential cosmetics, how to not waste all that tea you make, and how to make the best face masks ever. And you know what will be the best part? When you use them on Feilong, and keep him company for the thirty minutes or so it will take him to get ready every morning or evening.” Oriya-sama let out another small, wicked laugh that sounded just a little bit manic. 

Tao frowned. “Why?”

“Why not?”

“But…” You’re the wicked step-mother in this fairy tale, he wanted to say, but managed to stop himself before finishing his sentence. 

“Useless knowledge should be passed along, don’t you agree? I know so many useless things, Tao, and have no one to share them,” Oriya-sama sighed. “There’s a word for what I feel in German and I have no one to teach it to. That’s why.” Oriya-sama started moving towards the kitchen.

Tao followed him. He still didn’t know if he should trust him, but he trusted that Oriya-sama would never hurt Fei-sama. And, well, if Hansel and Gretel could learn something from the wicked witch, then so could he.


End file.
